Wednesday, November 30, 2005

I got a chance to test out the new tires on the Maxima. The stickers were still on them, so I had to go burn them off. It is amazing how a little maintenance and care to a car will make it run a lot better. I try to tell people the same is true for a computer. If you just spend a little time with it every once in a while, you can keep it for a long time.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

We have a multitude of software at work, all built over the past 30 years. Naturally, each one has been piecemealed, don't interact, written in multiple languages, difficult to navigate, ugly, not enough flexibility, .... I could go on. I'm trying to convince the bigwigs to give me $1,000,000 and a year to go the beach with a laptop and write an entirely new, comprehensive system. So far, no go. But I'll keep working him.

Monday, November 28, 2005

I got out of hanging the outside Christmas lights on the house. It's raining now. We're also supposed to get a few inches of snow this week, which hasn't stopped me from rolling around on the roof before. I have Friday off to do some serious gaming, but I'm sure I'll end up forced into the Christmas spirit.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

While the women were baking cookies, I figured the boys would be able to play some Xbox. Unfortunately, the damn Vikings were playing, so no game playing was had, which is odd since it was 2 to 1 in favor of gaming. But I guess the 1 owned the TV.

Saturday, November 26, 2005

I only had a little time to play some games. I spent most of it on Psychonauts. Now I didn't have much time with it, but I can't believe all the major gaming sites gave it above 9.0. I will have to spend some time with it. I noticed one review said the game wasn't really challenging, just entertaining.

Friday, November 25, 2005

After trying many CD-R's, CD-RW's, and burning software, I found the combination that would work with my computer and Xbox. In the end, if finally works. What started this whole mess is that I set XBMC to be the default dashboard. When I was updating the version, I forgot a ">" in the settings XML file. Because of this, the Xbox would only boot to the original Xbox dash and I couldn't FTP into it. So after booting from an EvolutionX iso, I was able to FTP into Mobil and add the ">".

Now that Mobil's up and running, I really have to reinstall linux on the server. Currently, the server is out of commission due to a failed Debian install. I think I'll continue to use Mandrake until I get a bit more comfortable.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

A four day weekend. If my Xbox worked, I'd say that I'd spend it all playing games and watching movies.

I really need to get it working.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

I can't believe how fast work got busy. It's good that I don't have a second to spare; it makes the day go by incredibly fast.

Monday, November 21, 2005

I actually had time tonight to get stuff done. When this happens, I try to get a house project done and a computer project done. The house project was to replace all the smoke alarms with smoke/CO sensors. They look ugly, but hopefully I won't die.

The computer project was to set up drive sharing with Karl over the internet. We tried the using NetBEUI protocol. I don't know if we didn't configure something correctly or what, but we gained nothing from our hour of work. Personally, I blame it on Karl's home network.

Sunday, November 20, 2005

It's amazing how easy it is to not get much accomplished. It took me probably a good 3 hours to install a light switch. Granted, it's not your ordinary light switch, but still. It's a three-way dimmer with a main computer terminal controlled by a remote wall dimmer. Not like TV remote control, but a second switch. The remote switch or the main terminal controls the computer, which then in turn controls the light. Because this isn't a three-way but a direct connect, I had to remove the two original switches and the light to do a little rewiring. Ahh, just like to old days. I'm very pleased with the end result, just not the time it took.

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Well, what do you know? I finally was able to watch a movie tonight ... straight through with no interruptions, and on the big screen. The movie was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I thought it was pretty good. Even though it was a remake, you'd still expect it to be somehow different from the original, but it was pretty much exactly the same as the first. A Burton/Depp movie is like a good White Zombie album, you know what to expect, but you'd listen to it again and again.

Friday, November 18, 2005

I finally got my radio working in my car. Unfortunately, the faceplate is barely balancing in place, since all the little clips and springs are missing, and I can't detach it, and I can't play CD's because the faceplate would have to tilt down to insert the disc. However, it is really nice to have something to listen to again. I'm thinking of getting rid of the Alpine and putting the Pioneer in. If I had the time, this would be a perfect opportunity to continue the carputer. I have all the guts, but just need to build the power supply and get a monitor. Once I finish a project, I'll certainly put some pics up.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

I thought that after my exam, I would have time to watch movies, play video games, work on the family website, and get some house chores done. But it turns out that I'm surprised that I had even the time to study. I've been thinking of all the projects that I need to do, and I think the first should be to get the server running ... well, after I get the Xbox functioning again. I theoretically have a boot disc that should allow me to FTP into the Xbox and fix the massive problems that I created. That should happen tomorrow ... or else.

Monday, November 14, 2005

I found out that if you have a little absinthe before bed, you sleep very soundly.

Saturday, November 12, 2005

I went to Karl's with expectations of doing grand projects. One was to stay up all night. Somehow it didn't happen. Probably because we never pace ourselves...

Friday, November 11, 2005

So Digg has been in the news, and probably will for some time. But I found out that Kevin Rose is behind it. I think his internet episodes were cool, and have to check out one of his new creations.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

We indeed played Ms. Pac Man at the bosses house. It turned out there were no prizes for the second highest score. I guess it still felt good to get a score of over five times the next highest score. Well, maybe not good since we're dealing with Ms. Pac Man and a bunch of co-workers that don't play video games.

Tuesday, November 8, 2005

I'll be going to Hartford tomorrow, so the posting might not happen for a while, not like it's interesting lately. We're going to the big boss' house again, so there will probably be some Ms. Pac Man action. In fact, the boss said there was a prize for the second highest score after me. Hey, just cause I have dexterous phalanges I shouldn't be penalized.

Monday, November 7, 2005

Isn't this incredibly cool?

Sunday, November 6, 2005

Sorry for the missed posts, but it was the first weekend after exams. I tried some Green Fairy over the weekend. I'm going to have to document my findings at a later date, but right now, I've gotta get some sleep.

Thursday, November 3, 2005

The exam's over. The exam was from 9:30 to 1:30 and I always get a Snickers in case I get hungry. But I am always too focused to remember that I'm hungry. So when time ends, I get really hungry and eat the Snickers too fast. The caffeine and the release of months of studying got to me and I felt sick. Of course, nothing several beers couldn't handle.

Wednesday, November 2, 2005

Exam Eve. Getting exhausted. Losing vital fluids.

Tuesday, November 1, 2005

This is the point where I start thinking of what's going to happen after the exam. But I have to stay on target. Not too much longer.